Gary Kirsten Contends Twenty20 is Blessing for Domestic cricket, not International

Gary Kirsten was never big on the IPL. He almost once spoke out before the BCCI had their way. However, once again, Kirsten is indirectly implicating that the Twenty20 has become the main distraction rather than a side attraction.

IPL

The former Indian coach and present South African coach is speaking frankly on several issues and given his previous proximity to the Indian team, it would seem only natural that Twenty20, and indirectly the Indian Premier League ( IPL ), would not be off the agenda. Kirsten has had his reservations about the format and the BCCI venture as a money spinner. However, Kirsten is not only diplomatic but also, pragmatic in his expression of how he sees Twenty20’s role in the present international cricket calendar.

Kirsten believes Twenty20 has a role but perhaps a dominant domestic tournament, not only as a compulsion on the international stage. Although Twenty20 has shown the kind of audience that cricket has been missing, Kirsten is not in favour of an expanding role for Twenty20 in an age when Test cricket and one day cricket appear to be doing fine. Besides, he believes that Twenty20 is a great format suited for domestic cricket wherein it can bring in the much needed fan support. However, even for Kirsten, finding place in the international cricket calendar and on tours is a bit much for the cricketers.

Kirsten needs to take into account the financial lure and compulsions that has forced boards to sit up and take notice since the BCCI introduced the IPL. The spin offs have not been far behind in the shape of the Champions League Twenty20 that features the top Twenty20 teams from the various boards as well as the individual boards’ Twenty20 competition such as the Pro20 in South Africa, England’s Twenty20 Cup where Twenty20 is said to have originated, Australia’s Twenty20 Big Bash which is now in the process of changing to a city based format and the latest by way of Sri Lanka’s Sri Lankan Premier League ( SLPL ). In these competitions, the focus has been as much on the financial aspect of the sport to encourage the signing up of foreign cricketers which has also provided cricketers with the opportunity to play for more than one Twenty20 team as against their original home team. It has also resulted in opportunities for cricketers that they are finding it increasingly hard to turn down and end up in clashes with their respective boards. However, that has not stopped the IPL in particular expanding in its fourth year with the IPL 4 highlighting a range of issues revolving around the sport.

However, Kirsten has spoken out about the excesses of the sport as the Indian coach only to be reprimanded by the BCCI. Kirsten’s viewpoint was that too much of the IPL exposure would resulting in niggles for the Indian cricketers and affecting their participation in the ICC Cricket World Cup Twenty20, a competition India won in the tournament’s inaugural year in 2007 in South Africa. While Kirsten supports the multi team competition at the international level, he does not see how Twenty20 should be imposing on fully packed international tours.